The present invention relates generally to surge protection devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to surge protection devices for LED driver systems and a method for alerting users as to the need to replace failed surge protection components.
Outdoor electronic light emitting diode (LED) drivers are subject to significant surges on the input lines. In many conventional applications, electronic LED drivers, and the LEDs themselves, are protected by surge suppressor modules which are connected in parallel with the inputs of the LED drivers. Such surge suppressor modules also conventionally include clamping devices such as metal oxide varistors (MOVs). However, the performance of surge suppressors containing MOVs degrades with each surge event. Further, the MOVs in the surge suppressor can fail with no external indication. This failure leaves the fixture unprotected for any subsequent surge event.
It would be desirable to provide an inexpensive method for an operator to determine the status of a surge suppression system that is usually inconveniently located, e.g., at the top of a pole. This is especially problematic wherein determining system status requires a physical measurement.
It would further be desirable that indication of a failed surge suppressor can allow replacement of an inexpensive component in an expensive system before damage occurs to the remaining system.